Schoolgirls wade through a flooded street during showers in Mumbai on Tuesday. (PTI Photo)

A local train passes over flooded railway tracks during rain showers in Mumbai. (AFP Photo)

High-rise buildings during the heavy rains in Mumbai on Tuesday. (PTI Photo)

People walk in heavy rains at Marine Drive in Mumbai on Tuesday. (PTI Photo)

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities have asked people not to step out of their house unless absolutely necessary, as heavy rains are predicted in Mumbai in the next 72 hours.

Children were sent back home as several municipal and private schools were shut for the day.

According to television channel reports, Mumbai's Colaba area has so far recorded 158.6 millimeters of rain in the last 20 hours, while Santa Cruz has recorded 168.6 millimeters of rainfall since Tuesday.

The temperature in Mumbai has dipped to a minimum of 22 degree Celsius due to the continuous rainfall.

The Meteorological Department has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next 48 hours. It has also predicted heavy rainfall along the Konkan coast in the next 60 hours.

The highest tide of the season will be witnessed at 1.27pm on Wednesday when the sea will rise to almost as high as 5metres. The fishermen have been asked not to venture in the sea.

Train services on Central Railway are running around 30 minutes behind schedule while there is heavy traffic at Thane-Mulund toll naka and road leading towards eastern express highway from Airoli.

Traffic is also reported to be moving at a snail's pace on the Western and Eastern Expressway.

There are also reports of waterlogging at Hindmata, Grant Road, Andheri subway, parts of Sion, Napean Sea Road and Lokhandwala Complex.

A tree fell at Churchgate damaging more 4 cars but no one was injured.

Mumbra bypass develops crater; closed for trafficA nearly one km-long stretch of Mumbra bypass on the outskirts of the city caved in on Wednesday morning due to incessant rains and has been closed for vehicular traffic, police said.

"Due to heavy rains, around one km-long stretch of the Mumbra bypass has developed huge craters and has been badly damaged. As a precautionary measure, the traffic on either side of the road has been diverted," a police officer said.

However, the closure of the bypass has led to traffic snarls in the internal parts of the city.

Potholes make citizens' life difficult in Kalanagar, Bandra as rains continue to pour in Mumbai. HT photo

The Mumbra bypass on the National Highway 4 (Mumbai-Pune highway) is a crucial link to traffic from Delhi-Ahmedabad-Mumbai (NH3) and Agra-Nashik-Mumbai (NH8) going towards Panvel, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Pune and beyond, and is mostly used by heavy vehicles.

The city witnessed very heavy showers on Tuesday, as it usually does every July.

And as it happens every year, once again BMC struggled to handle the usual flooding and traffic troubles, making commute a nightmare for Mumbaiites.

In 12 hours, between 8.30am and 8.30pm on Tuesday, the suburbs recorded a whopping 142.2mm of rainfall, while the island city received 84.6mm.

Despite the prediction of heavy rainfall and a warning that the sea would rise higher than usual during high tide in the afternoon, the agencies responsible were unprepared to deal with the situation.

The result was severe waterlogging, massive traffic jams and severely disrupted train services.

At least 27 spots across the city were heavily flooded, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Train services on the harbour line came to a halt in the afternoon and resumed only after the evening peak hours, while trains on the central line were running around 30 minutes behind schedule; western line services were also delayed.

Brace yourself for more trouble on Wednesday: the weather department has forecast heavy to very heavy rain for 72 hours and the sea will rise even higher today during high tide (4.95 metres at 1.27pm).